14th Cyprus Summit

Overview

Although Europe and America have recovered to a significant extent a decade after the 2008 global financial crisis, major challenges still have to be faced. The decline of the traditional middle class, the uncertainty over technological changes and their social impact, the imbalances between financial systems and productive economy as well as the persistent protectionist and populist tendencies are but a few of the issues to be tackled. At the same time, Cyprus, having successfully completed the international bailout programme in mid-2016, is on track to stabilise growth. The hydrocarbons exploration process in the Levantine basin has raised expectations that the country can evolve as a significant energy producer and transporter in the region.

Will Cyprus benefit from the energy discoveries and its strategic location to establish itself as an investment hub in the eastern Mediterranean?

The Economist Events have great pleasure in announcing the organisation of the 14th annual Cyprus Summit entitled “EUROPE: PERFORMING A BALANCING ACT – CYPRUS: LEAVING NO STONE UNTURNED” which is scheduled to take place in Nicosia on November 1st-2nd 2018. Join us for a stimulating dialogue with the participation of prominent leaders from government, EU, international institutions, business and academia.

In cooperation with:

Why attend

More than 460 attendees took part in our 13th Cyprus Summit

Speakers

John Peet

Political and Brexit editor, The Economist

John Peet

Political and Brexit editor, The Economist

Europe editor, The Economist, since September 2003 and currently political and Brexit editor. Responsible for coverage of all of Europe, including the European Union, Russia, Turkey, the Caucasus and the Balkans.

He has written for The Economist surveys of management consulting, health care, the American South, Spain, the European Union, European Monetary Union, Equity Markets, E-Commerce, the Netherlands, Water, Ireland, Italy, the Future of Europe, Turkey, France and Brexit. In 2014 he co-authored a book, Unhappy Union: how the euro crisis - and Europe - can be fixed.

He has an MA in economics from Cambridge University.

Nicos Anastasiades

President, Cyprus

Nicos Anastasiades

President, Cyprus

Nicos Anastasiades was born in 1946. He is married to Andri Anastasiades and has two daughters. He has a BA in Law (1969) from the University of Athens and a postgraduate diploma in Shipping Law (1971) from the University of London. He has been practicing law since 1972 at the Nicos Anastasiades & Partners law firm, in Limassol.

Political career

Founding member of the Democratic Rally party and its Youth Organisation (1976), district secretary of the Democratic Rally Youth Organisation, NE.DI.SY (1976-85), vice-president (1985-87) and president of NE.DI.SY (1987-90), member of the House of Representatives since 1981 for the Limassol constituency(re-elected in 1985, 1991, 1996, 2001, 2006 and 2011). Elected first vice-president of the Democratic Rally (1990-95), deputy president of the Democratic Rally (1995-97), member of the Cyprus National Council since 1995, president of the Democratic Rally in 1997 and re-elected in 1999, 2003, 2006 and 2012. Elected president of the Republic of Cyprus (24/02/2013).

Parliamentary career

Throughout his parliamentary career, he has served on a number of parliamentary committees either as chairman, vice-chairman or member.

His major positions of responsibility are:

Chairman of the inter-parliamentary Union Committee of the Human Rights of Parliamentarians (1990-96), parliamentary leader of the Democratic Rally (1993-97), deputy president of the House of Representatives (1996-2001), chairman of the House of Representative’s foreign affairs committee (2001-06)

International career

Chairman of the Cyprus Parliamentary Friendship Association, linked with thirty eight (38) other national parliaments. Attended and participated in numerous international conferences, visits and delegations. Member of the Joint Coordinating Greece-Cyprus parliamentary committee. He has been participating since 1985 in all Inter-Parliamentary (IPU) conferences and from 1991 onwards through his position as the leader of the Cyprus delegation. Has attended and participated in a number of the European People’s Party (EPP) European Democrat Union (EDU) and International Democrat Union (IDU) Congresses and Summit Meetings through the Democratic Rally’s capacity as member.

Nikos Christodoulides

Minister of foreign affairs, Cyprus

Nikos Christodoulides

Minister of foreign affairs, Cyprus

Nikos Christodoulides was born on December 6th 1973 in Paphos.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science, economics, and Byzantine and modern Greek studies from City University of New York, Queens College, with postgraduate studies in political

science at New York University and Diplomatic Studies at the University of Malta. He holds a doctorate from the department of political science and public administration of the University of Athens.

He was a career diplomat between 1999 and 2013. During this time he served as director of the office of the minister of foreign affairs, spokesperson of the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU in Brussels, deputy chief of mission at the Embassy of Cyprus in Greece, director of the office of the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and consul general at the High Commission of the Republic of Cyprus in the UK.

Prior to his appointment as minister of foreign affairs on March 1st 2018, he served as director of the diplomatic office of the president of the Republic of Cyprus (2013-18) and government spokesman (2014-18).

He was a lecturer and research associate at the department of history and archeology of the University of Cyprus between 2007 and 2010. He is the author of two books, Plans for Solution of the Cyprus Problem 1948-1978 (2009) and Relations between Athens and Nicosia and the Cyprus Problem, 1977-1988 (2013). He has also published extensively in domestic and international journals.

He is married to Philippa Karsera and has four daughters, Ioanna, Ekaterini, Despina-Maria, and Phoebe.

Harris Georgiades

Minister of finance, Cyprus

Harris Georgiades

Minister of finance, Cyprus

Harris Georgiades was born in 1972 in Nicosia. He was appointed as minister of finance of the Republic of Cyprus on April 3rd 2013 and was reappointed on March 1st 2018.

He had the leading role in the implementation and successful conclusion of the reform and consolidation programme for the Cyprus economy after the financial crisis of 2012-13. He participates in the Eurogroup and the ECOFIN. He was elected chairman of the board of governors of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development for the period 2014-15 and is a member of the board of governors of the International Monetary Fund, the European Investment Bank and the European Stability Mechanism.

He was selected by POLITICO as one of the 28 most-influential Europeans for 2016. He is a member of the Young Leaders for Europe community of the World Economic Forum.

Prior to his appointment as minister he was a member of the House of Representatives with the Democratic Rally Party (2011-13). He also served as press spokesman and as member of the Executive of the Democratic Rally. In parallel, he managed a family-owned hotel business (1999-2013).

He studied international relations and economics (BA, MA, 1992-96) at the University of Reading, UK and was a post-graduate researcher at the Institute of European and International Studies, University of Reading (1996-98). He graduated from the English School, Nicosia (1983-1990) and served his military service in the Cyprus National Guard as a non-commissioned officer of the Artillery.

He is married to Eva Georgiades, who works as a schools-councilor, and they have a young daughter.

Constantinos Petrides

Minister of interior, Cyprus

Constantinos Petrides

Minister of interior, Cyprus

Constantinos Petrides assumed office as minister of interior on the 11th of April 2017. Previously, he had been the deputy minister to the president of the Republic of Cyprus since March 1st 2013. In addition to his other duties, he had been assigned by the president Nicos Anastasiades the leading role for the growth reform, including civil service reform.

Prior to his appointment as deputy minister, Mr Petrides was the director of the office of the president of the Democratic Rally (9/2011 – 2/2013). In 2006 he was hired at the European Commission in Brussels where he worked as an economist at the Directorate General for Agriculture and the Directorate General for Competition until September 2011. During his stay at the European Commission he served as negotiator of trade liberalisation agreements between the EU and third countries and also worked on issues of public aid in the field of transportations. From 2000 until 2006 he served as senior officer at the Association of Cyprus Banks and as representative of the Association to the European Banking Federation and the National Euro Changeover Committee. During the negotiations for Cyprus’ accession to the EU in 2000 he worked on issues of harmonisation at the Directorate for EU-Cyprus relations of the Planning Bureau.

He studied economics at the University of Nottingham and then acquired an MSc in political economy of transition in Europe from the London School of Economics and Political Sciences.

Yiorgos Lakkotrypis

Minister of energy, commerce, industry and tourism, Cyprus

Yiorgos Lakkotrypis

Minister of energy, commerce, industry and tourism, Cyprus

Yiorgos Lakkotrypis was born in Nicosia on May 30th 1970.

He is a graduate of the English School, Nicosia and has studied Mathematics and Computer Science (BSc) at the University of Keele in the UK (1988-91). He completed his postgraduate studies in Business Administration (MBA) at the University of Colorado in the USA, on a Fulbright scholarship (1993-95).

In 1991 he joined Joannou & Paraskevaides, assigned to oversee the IT systems at the company’s branch in Benghazi, Libya. In 1995, upon his return to Cyprus from his studies in the US, he joined IBM Cyprus, where for the next 6 years he worked in sales.

In 2003 he was the first employee hired by Microsoft in Cyprus, entrusted with developing the company’s operations in the country. In 2008 he was appointed managing director for Microsoft Cyprus and Malta, while in November 2011 he was promoted to public sector director for Microsoft central & eastern Europe.

In addition, in 2008 he was appointed by the council of ministers as a member of the board of directors of the Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency (CIPA), a position he held until November 2011. In 2009 he was also appointed as a member of the board of directors of the Natural Gas Public Company (DEFA), a position he held until his appointment as minister.

Mr Lakkotrypis has been holding the office of minister of energy, commerce, industry and tourism since March 1st 2013.

He is married to Christiana and they have two daughters, Marina and Angelina.

Natasa Pilides

Shipping deputy minister to the president, Cyprus

Natasa Pilides

Shipping deputy minister to the president, Cyprus

Natasa Pilides has been the shipping deputy minister to the president since March 1st 2018.

Previously, she served as the director-general of the Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency since April 2016, responsible for the design and implementation of the organisation’s strategy in
investment promotion, investor support and facilitation of reform, in close collaboration with the Cyprus government.

Natasa’s work experience includes more than fifteen years in the private sector. She served as a director and regional chief operating officer at Baker Tilly in south-east Europe, heading the departments of finance, marketing, HR, administration, operations and IT for Cyprus, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria and Moldova. For 9 years she worked at PwC, in Cyprus, Milan and London in the areas of audit and tax consulting, providing services to multinational companies active in the fields of banking and finance, shipping, insurance, energy, construction and FMCG.

Natasa has wide experience in delivering professional training and courses for ICAEW, ACCA and CIMA exams in the areas of audit, tax, corporate law, ethics, financial accounting and reporting, at BPP London, one of the leading professional studies organisations worldwide.

Natasa graduated from Oxford University with a first-class honours degree with distinction inmodern languages and literature (French and Italian). She is afellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (ICAEW) and a member of the Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus (ICPAC). She is fluent in Greek, English, French and Italian. She has represented and promoted Cyprus as an investment destination abroad throughout her career and has published various articles in international professional publications.

Tristan Aspray

Tristan Aspray

Tristan Aspray was educated in England, receiving a bachelor’s degree in geological sciences from Cambridge University in 1992 and a master’s degree in basin evolution and dynamics from
London University in 1993.

Tristan joined Esso Exploration and Production UK Limited in 1994 as a petroleum geologist, working on central North Sea fields. In subsequent assignments he has worked on exploration and development projects in a variety of areas, including the Gulf of Mexico, Libya, Egypt, Vietnam and Russia. In 2008 he became an upstream adviser to ExxonMobil’s management committee in Dallas, Texas. Tristan was then seconded into XTO Energy, a major producer of unconventional gas in the United States which was acquired by ExxonMobil in 2010. In September 2011 he moved back to the United Kingdom to take on the role of Europe exploration operations manager, in which his portfolio ranged from onshore shale gas in Germany and Poland to deep water gas exploration in the Romanian Black Sea.

Tristan became vice-president of business development, ExxonMobil Exploration Company, in May 2014 and in July 2015 moved to his current position of vice-president of Europe, Russia, Caspian, ExxonMobil Exploration Company.

He is married with two children, and his interests include hiking, kayaking, history, cycling and wildlife photography.

Yannis Bassias

President and CEO, Hellenic Hydrocarbon Resources Management

Yannis Bassias

President and CEO, Hellenic Hydrocarbon Resources Management

Yannis Bassias has 25 years in the international oil and gas exploration and services business. Since 2012 he has been advising several companies in EEZs of the Indian Ocean, Equatorial America and west Africa on geological and legal aspects of frontier hydrocarbon basins.

From 1997 to 2012, as president of Georex group, he demerged the exploration assets from the service activities and established technical subsidiaries in France, United Kingdom, Tunisia and the Republic of Congo. He has managed database projects on CIS reservoirs, data mergers for Total, PetroFina and Elf, seismic data transcription for Snpc and Esso. Between 1996 and 2000 he directed evaluation teams for the development of oil and gas interests in Texas and Colombia and in 2007 initiated for Poros onshore exploration portfolios with assets in the Paris basin and Tunisia.

Before joining the petroleum industry had an academic career at the Free University of Berlin and was associate professor in the National Museum of Natural History, Paris, with main research focus the Precambrian of Morocco and sedimentary basins and ridges of the Indian Ocean, geologist, PhD in tectonics and stratigraphy, he is author of more than 30 publications in international scientific or industry journals.

Iain Begg

Professorial research fellow at the European Institute, London School of Economics and Political Science

Iain Begg

Professorial research fellow at the European Institute, London School of Economics and Political Science

Iain Begg is a professorial research fellow at the European Institute and co-director of the Dahrendorf Forum on the Future of Europe, London School of Economics and Political Science.

He has directed and participated in a series of research projects on different facets of EU governance and economic policy, including work on fiscal policy coordination and fiscal rules, the future of the EU’s finances, and reform of cohesion policy. Since 2015, he has also been a prominent contributor to the ‘Brexit’ debate.

He recently served as a specialist adviser to the House of Lords European Communities Committee for successive inquiries into the development of EU economic governance, and has held a similar role for previous inquiries into cohesion policy and the EU budget. He has undertaken a number of other advisory roles and is a frequent contributor to international conferences on EU economic policy issues.

Gus M. Bilirakis

Congressman, United States House of Representatives (via Skype)

Gus M. Bilirakis

Congressman, United States House of Representatives (via Skype)

Congressman Gus M. Bilirakis is a Republican, representing Florida’s 12th Congressional District. He is currently serving his sixth term in the US House of Representatives.

Gus serves on the energy and commerce committee and is vice-chairman of the Veterans’ affairs committee. Working in a bipartisan manner, his main priorities include controlling government spending, creating jobs for middleclass Americans, finding ways for government to operate smaller and smarter, and lowering taxes.

As the grandson of Greek immigrants, Gus is heavily invested in Hellenic affairs. The region is vital to American interests, and Greece is a strong ally of the U.S. He is the Co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus on Hellenic Affairs and the founding Co-Chair of the Congressional Hellenic Israel Alliance, a group of Members dedicated to advancing cooperation between the U.S., Greece, Israel, and Cyprus.

Gus strongly opposes the illegal Turkish occupation of Cyprus and has been a strong proponent of the reunification of Cyprus, on behalf of all the Cypriot people. He believes strongly in protecting religious freedoms across the globe, and stopping the persecution of religious minorities, including Coptic Christians in Egypt and Eastern Orthodox Christians in Turkey.

Prior to being elected to Congress, Gus served four terms in the Florida House of Representatives, where he chaired several prominent panels, including the Economic Development, Trade and Banking Committee.

Gus earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Florida and a J.D. from Stetson University. He interned for President Ronald Reagan and the National Republican Congressional Committee.

Dominique Bolli

Head of government advisory practice, Henley & Partners

Dominique Bolli

Head of government advisory practice, Henley & Partners

Dominique N. Bolli is the head of Henley & Partners’ government advisory practice.

He holds a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., a certificate of political studies from Science Po, Lyon II and completed his studies in quantitative portfolio management at the University of Geneva.

Vladimir Chizhov

Ambassador, permanent representative of the Russian Federation to the European Union

Vladimir Chizhov

Ambassador, permanent representative of the Russian Federation to the European Union

Vladimir Chizhov was born on December 3rd, 1953.

He graduated with honours from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO - University) and joined the diplomatic service in 1976.

2005: Permanent representative of the Russian Federation to the European Communities, Brussels, Belgium

Since 2010: Permanent representative of the Russian Federation to the European Union, Brussels, Belgium

Conducted analytical research work on European security, OSCE, Russia-EU and Russia-NATO relations, Mediterranean, Balkans, problems of Cyprus and Northern Ireland, UN peace-keeping operations.

Diplomatic Rank: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (2000)

Decorated with state awards

Languages: English, Greek, French

Marital status: married, two children

Lefteris Christoforou

MEP, Democratic Rally (DISY), European People's Party

Lefteris Christoforou

MEP, Democratic Rally (DISY), European People's Party

Lefteris Christoforou was born in 1963 at Prastio, a currently occupied village west of Famagusta.

He studied economics at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki on a scholarship and graduated with distinction. He continued with postgraduate studies in business administration.

He has worked in the financial sector in Cyprus but also abroad and gained significant experience in the fields of finance and banking.
In 1996, he was elected as a member of the Cypriot House of Representatives with DISY.

Mr Christoforou held the presidency of the Parliamentary Committee on Trade, Energy, Industry and Tourism and was a member on several other Committees such as: Refugees-Enclaved-Missing-Adversely Affected Persons Committee; Committee of Internal Affairs and Committee on Financial and Budgetary Affairs. In 2004, he was appointed by the Cypriot House of Representatives as an observant member of the European Parliament.

Mr Christoforou was elected as a member of the European Parliament in 2014. At the European Parliament, he is a member of two very important committees: the Committee on Budgets and the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy. Furthermore, he participates at the PANA committee of inquiry, which was established to investigate alleged contraventions and maladministration in relation to money laundering, tax avoidance and tax evasion. Finally, he serves as a deputy chair of the Democratic Rally since 2013.

He is married to Diamanto Orthodoxou and is a father of two children, Panagiots and Lukia.

Lord Alister Darling

Former chancellor of the exchequer, UK

Lord Alister Darling

Former chancellor of the exchequer, UK

Alistair Darling served as chancellor of the exchequer from 2007 to 2010, during the most turbulent and far-reaching economic crisis the world had seen for 60 years. He is also the man who played the key role in prevention of the collapse of the banking system in the UK. He introduced the measures needed to avert a collapse of the banking system and played a leading part in restoring stability to global financial markets.

Alistair Darling became chief secretary to the treasury in Tony Blair’s first cabinet, moving to work & pensions, and then taking joint responsibility for the Scotland Office and the department of transport. His final role under prime minister Blair was at the helm of trade & industry, after which Gordon Brown promoted him to the Treasury. As chancellor, Alistair was widely credited with preventing recession from spiralling into a repeat of the Great Depression. By the time he left office, government borrowing was less than forecast and unemployment and repossessions were both lower than many had anticipated. In January 2016 he has joined the board of Morgan Stanley.

Kathleen Doherty

Ambassador of the United States of America to the Republic of Cyprus

Kathleen Doherty

Ambassador of the United States of America to the Republic of Cyprus

Kathleen Doherty has been the US ambassador to Cyprus since October 2015. She holds the career rank of minister counselor, and in her 28-year career, has served in Italy, the United Kingdom, Russia, Brazil and the Dominican Republic. She also served several years in the State Department in Washington D.C.

Prior to coming to Cyprus, she was the deputy chief of mission in the US embassy in Rome. Prior to that, she was a deputy assistant secretary in the State Department in Washington D.C, where she had responsibility for managing relations with the European Union and thirteen countries in western Europe.

Ambassador Doherty speaks Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Russian, and received one of the department’s highest honors for her work on US-EU relations.
She has an MSc from the London School of Economics and a BA from Colgate University.

Thanos Dokos

Thanos Dokos

Thanos P. Dokos received his Ph.D. in international relations from Cambridge University and has held research posts at HSFK (Frankfurt, 1989-90) and the Center for Science and International Affairs (CSIA) at Harvard University (1990-91). He served as the director for research, Strategic Studies Division, Hellenic Ministry of National Defence (1996-98) and as an adviser on NATO issues to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1998-1999). He is currently the director-general of ELIAMEP.

He has taught at the Universities of Athens and Piraeus, the Hellenic National Defence College, the Diplomatic Academy and the Hellenic National Security School. His research interests include global trends, international security, Greek-Turkish relations & Mediterranean security. Publications include: The Eastern Mediterranean and the Gulf region in 2020, German Marshall Fund, Brussels, 2011; Energy developments and Greek foreign policy: The Southern Gas Corridor as a major opportunity for Greece (with Theodore Tsakiris), ELIAMEP Policy Papers, Athens, February 2012; Energy Geopolitics in the Eastern Mediterranean: The Role of Greece, Tel Aviv University, February 2016; White Paper for Greek Foreign, Defence and Security policy (ed., in Greek, 2016); The Eastern Mediterranean in 2020: Possible Scenarios and Policy Recommendations (ed.), ELIAMEP-KAS Policy Paper, April 2016; The EU and the Western Balkans as a Single Security Space in ‘Resilience in the Western Balkans’, EUISS Report, September 2017.

Charles Ellinas

Charles Ellinas has over 35 years experience in the oil & gas sector in senior management positions.

Currently he is the CEO of e-CNHC (E-C Cyprus Natural Hydrocarbons Company Ltd), providing management and advisory services in the oil & gas and energy sectors in Cyprus and the region. A lot needs to be done and the aim of the company is to contribute to the successful development of these sectors for the future of Cyprus.

Prior to this, as CEO of KRETYK he was responsible for implementing the Cypriot government’s strategy for the development of its hydrocarbons sector.

Until 2012 Charles Ellinas was a director of Mott MacDonald for 25 years and the managing director of Mott MacDonald’s Oil, Gas & Petrochemicals business world-wide.

Athanasios Ellis

Editor in chief of Kathimerini English edition, Kathimerini newspaper

Athanasios Ellis

Editor in chief of Kathimerini English edition, Kathimerini newspaper

Athanasios Ellis is editor in chief of Kathimerini English edition which is published in Greece and Cyprus in cooperation with the New York Times as a single paper. He was for many years Washington correspondent for Kathimerini, Antenna TV, Athens News Agency, and the Greek Service of Deutsche Welle.

He has interviewed numerous foreign leaders and influential politicians, among them Turkish leaders Tayip Erdogan, Abdullah Gul, and Ahmet Davutoglu, US vice-president Biden, European Commission presidents Junker and Baroso, IMF managing directors Lagarde and Strauss Khan, US secretaries of state Colin Powell and Madeleine Albright. He has reported from various foreign capitals, including Washington (and New York), Beijing, Tokyo, Brussels, Berlin, London, Paris, Rome, Vienna, Ankara (and Istanbul), Nicosia and Cairo. He has appeared on international media to analyze Greek elections, the economic crisis, Greek-Turkish relations and the Cyprus issue, the war in Yugoslavia, the capture of “November 17”, Greece’s preparation for the 2004 Olympic Games, etc.

He has a B.A. in economics and political science from Boston University (Boston), and a MA in international relations from Boston University in Paris, France. He then got a diploma in journalism from New York University.

Evgenios Evgeniou

Chief executive officer, PwC Cyprus

Evgenios Evgeniou

Chief executive officer, PwC Cyprus

Evgenios is the CEO and senior partner of PwC Cyprus. He is also a member of the EMEA Leadership Team of PwC. He started his career with PwC in London in 1990 and was admitted to partnership in 2001. He has worked with PwC in London and on short secondment in Athens and Moscow.

Before becoming CEO, he was a member of the firm’s executive board, the banking and capital markets services leader and the HC leader. He was also a member of the management team for the assurance practice of PwC in continental Europe.

Evgenios is a member of the board of the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry, ICAEW contact member for Cyprus, vice-president of the board of the Nicosia Chamber of Commerce and president of the Cyprus-Russia Business Association. He was a member of the board of directors of CIPA from 2011 until 2016. He is a member of the board of Junior Achievement Cyprus and member of the advisory board of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) at the University of Cyprus.

Evgenios graduated from Imperial College London and he is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. He has attended leadership development programmes of PwC.

Demetris Fessas

Acting general manager, Cyprus Hydrocarbons Company

Demetris Fessas

Acting general manager, Cyprus Hydrocarbons Company

Demetris C. Fessas is a chartered engineer accredited by the UK Engineering Council and is also a fellow of the Institute of Marine Engineers, Scientists and Technologists.

He has been involved in the oil and gas industry for over 20 years, starting with design engineering on both topsides and subsea applications, progressing to subsea construction and followed by operations management. With initial experience based in the North Sea, followed by West Africa where he has been involved in deep-water developments in an engineering, operations and commercial management capacity. His latter experience has been with one of the leading subsea contractors, Subsea7, and with major operator, BP, where Demetris has developed and lead local teams in frontier locations.

Since mid-2015, Demetris has been employed by the Cyprus Hydrocarbons Company (CHC) and is currently the acting general manager responsible for leading CHC in its role as the National Oil & Gas Company of the Republic of Cyprus.

Philip Gerson

Deputy director, European department, IMF

Philip Gerson

Deputy director, European department, IMF

Philip Gerson is deputy director of the IMF’s European department, where he supervises the department’s work on several countries and serves as mission chief for the United Kingdom.

In nearly 25 years at the Fund he has worked on a variety of advanced and emerging market economies in Europe, the Western Hemisphere and Asia. He has also been an advisor to the Fund’s deputy managing director and overseen the Fiscal Monitor, the IMF’s flagship fiscal publication.

He holds a PhD in economics from The Johns Hopkins University, an MPhil from the University of Cambridge, and an AB from Dartmouth College.

David Gorman

Eurasia regional director, Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (CHD)

David Gorman

Eurasia regional director, Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (CHD)

David has more than 25 years of experience in the field of peacemaking.

He started his career in the Middle East and he went on to work for international organisations on a wide range of conflicts around the world. David has been based in the Philippines, Indonesia, Liberia, Bosnia as well as the West Bank and Gaza and has been working in Eurasia for the last several years.

He graduated from the London School of Economics, was featured in the award winning film ‘Miles and War’ as well as several publications and has published several articles on mediation.

Yannis Grigoriou

CEO, Hellenic Petroleum Upstream

Yannis Grigoriou

CEO, Hellenic Petroleum Upstream

Yannis is a mining engineer (NTU of Athens, 1978) and a geophysicist (MSc applied geophysics, University of Leeds, UK, 1979) with 36 years’ experience in oil and gas industry.

He began his carrier in 1982 at DEP SA (Greek E&P Company, operator in 26 block in Greece), as a geophysicist and gradually developed as explorationist in upstream business undertaking also various managerial positions. In 1998 he joined the Hellenic Petroleum Group, listed in Athens SE, and as dep. manager of the group’s business planning, he participated in numerous M&A corporate projects both in the upstream and the downstream sector (amongst them group IPOs, DEPA’s acquisition, merge with Paneuropean Holdings, BP retail network acquisition in Cyprus, OKTA refinery acquisition etc).

In 2005 Yannis was appointed business development manager for E&P of hydrocarbons, participating actively in the international growth of the company by forming more than 20 JVs with international oil companies, submitting offers in licensing rounds and acquiring explorations and production rights in Libya, Egypt, Albania and Montenegro where discovered more than 200 mln bbls. Currently he manages the E&P business of the group, focusing on the Greek fast growing upstream market where Hellenic Petroleum is building a promising portfolio of blocks, either as operator or as partner international JVs (with Total, ExxonMobil, Repsol and Edison) mainly offshore and onshore in W. Greece.

During 1997-2003 he served as adviser to EU Commission in the energy sector. Yannis was also appointed member of BoD in Hellenic Petroleum retail companies (Cyprus, Albania and Montenegro) and from 2015 onwards in the group’s upstream affiliates. He is member of AIPN and he serves, as elected VP, in the steering committee of the CEEC Scout Group.

Yves Grosjean

General manager, Total EP Cyprus

Yves Grosjean

General manager, Total EP Cyprus

Christoforos Hadjikyprianou

CEO & president of the council, European University Cyprus

Christoforos Hadjikyprianou

CEO & president of the council, European University Cyprus

Dr Christoforos Hadjikyprianou has a career of more than 30 years in the higher education sector. He is currently the CEO and president of the council of European University Cyprus.

His strong areas of expertise are strategic planning and execution; marketing & sales execution; best in class customer service models; performance optimization and change management. He has teaching and consulting experience in business administration, human resource management and management.

He is also a member of Galileo Global Education Executive Committee. As a member of Galileo Global Education Executive Committee, he is highly involved in the management and strategic direction of Galileo in different countries. He has also been a member of the Laureate Europe Executive Committee for 5 years.

Dr Hadjikyprianou participates actively in discussion panels and forums on issues such as competitiveness, talent development and innovation. He is a judge of the European Business Awards and a member of the board of the Cyprus-Jordan Association. He also serves in various social and athletic committees and is currently the secretary general of the Cyprus University Sports Federation.

He holds a BSc in Industrial Technology and an MBA from Southern Illinois University, USA. He also holds a doctorate degree from Middlesex University, UK in enrollment management and consumer behaviour in higher education.

Demetra Kalogerou

Chairwoman, Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission

Demetra Kalogerou

Chairwoman, Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission

Demetra Kalogerou (BSc, MSc, MPhil) is the chairwoman of the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), the public independent supervisory authority responsible for the overall supervision of the securities market in Cyprus.

Also, as of November 2012, she is a member of the Cyprus Public Audit Oversight Board, which has been established for the oversight of auditors and audit firms. Furthermore, from September 2013 to June 2014 Mrs Kalogerou served as member of the then tripartite Resolution Authority together with the minister of finance and the governor of the Central Bank of Cyprus.

Previously she held the position of a senior officer of the Cyprus Stock Exchange and overall she has more than 15 years’ experience in the financial sector.

Symeon Kassianides

Dr Symeon Kassianides is the founder, CEO and chairman of the Hyperion Systems Engineering Group.

He holds a PhD and DIC in chemical engineering from Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London (UK), a BSc in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA) and has over 20 years of experience in project execution and management of technology in the process manufacturing industries.

Since March 2017 he has been the chairman of the Natural Gas Public Company (DEFA).

Cleopatra Kitti

Founder, The Mediterranean Growth Initiative (MGI)

Cleopatra Kitti

Founder, The Mediterranean Growth Initiative (MGI)

Cleopatra is the founder of The Mediterranean Growth Initiative, the real time economic data analysis platform for all the economies of the Mediterranean region, is a certified independent director and non executive board member.

Cleopatra advises international and regional businesses looking to invest or are operating in the Mediterranean region, on governance, investment, and business continuity. She serves on the boards of a leading international commodity trading platform; a regional travel and tourism business; is an adviser to an international LPG trading company and a US oil and gas corporation active in the Mediterranean.

Her sectors of expertise include energy and natural resources; financial services; technology and telecommunications; investments and partnerships; government and public sector.

Cleopatra’s geographic expertise covers the markets of Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and the European Union (EU) institutional capital, Brussels. She has lived and worked in six different European countries, in the UAE and in Turkey over the last 20 years.

As longtime supporter, Cleopatra is a member of the international advisory board of The International Crisis Group, a conflict prevention and conflict management international NGO. She is an ambassador of INSEAD Independent Directors Network, and a member of the Institute of Directors, promoting effective corporate governance practices; and a member of the Arab International Women’s Forum, actively engaged in women's contribution to the economy, policy making and society.

Gene Kornegay

Cyprus Country manager, Noble Energy

Gene Kornegay

Cyprus Country manager, Noble Energy

L. Gene Kornegay is the Republic of Cyprus country manager for Noble Energy, based in Nicosia, Cyprus. He previously served for Noble Energy as country manager of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, one of the company’s core producing areas, and country manager of the Republic of Cameroon. Prior to joining Noble Energy, Mr Kornegay served as president, chief operating officer and member of the board of directors of GLOBEX Energy Inc. a privately held international upstream oil and natural gas company based in Houston, Texas. Earlier Mr Kornegay served in a number of management positions at ConocoPhillips.

Currently, Mr Kornegay serves on Noble Energy’s Corporate Compliance and Ethics Committee and is a member of the International Advisory Board of Texas A&M University.

Mr Kornegay’s career path led he and his family to live in Africa, Europe and the Middle East. He and his wife Donna currently reside in Nicosia, Cyprus.

Efi Koutsokosta

European affairs specialist, Euronews

Efi Koutsokosta

European affairs specialist, Euronews

Coming from Greece, the lullaby of Europe, Efi embodies Euronews’ European DNA, her entire career has been focused on the issues at the heart of Europe.

Based in Brussels, but travelling all over the continent, she has reported on the major political and economic agendas such as Brexit, the refugee crises or Eurozone crises.

During her time at Euronews Efi has produced and presented multiple shows, such as Brief from Brussels, a daily magazine focused on European and European Union affairs and The Global Conversation, in which she interviews European or national political leaders, including Jean-Claude Juncker, Alexis Tsipras, Martin Schulz and Jeremy Corbyn.

Efi is a regular contributor to various political online outlets and a moderator at the World Bank and the European Parliament panels or most recently at the Economic Forum in Krynica, Poland.

Efi graduated from Panteion University in Athens with a degree in Communications and Journalism.

Henry MacNevin

Associate managing director, Moody's Investors Service

Henry MacNevin

Associate managing director, Moody's Investors Service

Henry MacNevin is currently an associate managing director responsible for bank ratings in Italy and in several countries in central and eastern Europe, based in London.

Mr MacNevin joined Moody’s London-based banking team in October 1996, since when he has followed banks as lead analyst, as well as in Italy, in the United Kingdom, the Nordic region, Belgium, Luxembourg and Hungary, and has also worked as backup analyst for other banking systems, principally in Europe. Mr MacNevin’s previous banking experience includes seven years with the Barclays group, where he held positions in strategic planning, corporate banking, and credit risk management.

Mr MacNevin earned a BA (Hons) in Business Studies from Portsmouth Polytechnic in the United Kingdom.

Yannis Matsis

Chief executive officer and executive member of the board of directors, Hellenic Bank

Yannis Matsis

Chief executive officer and executive member of the board of directors, Hellenic Bank

Since April 2017, Yannis Matsis is the chief executive officer and executive member of the board of directors of Hellenic Bank in Cyprus. Between January 2014 and April 2017, Yannis also served as a non-executive member of the board of directors of Hellenic Bank, during which time he served for certain periods as chairman of the risk committee, chairman of the remuneration committee, member of the audit committee and member of the nominations committee of the board of directors.

Yannis Matsis made his career in investment banking in the City of London. He has more than 20 years of professional experience in senior positions, successfully building and managing global debt capital market teams, spread around geographical locations such as London, New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore and Sao Paulo.

Prior to his current role, Yannis was partner and a co-founder of Point Nine, a company that offers technology and middle and back office trade processing, operations and reporting outsourcing services to financial institutions.

Yannis graduated from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, first with a bachelor's (B.A.) degree and then with a master's (M.Eng.) degree in chemical engineering. Prior to that, he had attended and graduated from the English School in Nicosia, Cyprus.

Aldo Napolitano

Executive vice-president exploration projects management, Eni

Aldo Napolitano

Executive vice-president exploration projects management, Eni

Aldo has been working in the oil & gas sector since more than 30 years. In 1991 he entered Eni as exploration geophysicist. He subsequently covered the positions of exploration manager in Algeria, in Libya and in the United Kingdom.

Starting from 2004 he held various positions with regional (South Europe and Africa) and then worldwide responsibility for exploration planning and new ventures and from 2008 for the unconventional exploration projects of Eni. He then moved in 2011 as managing director to Poland and subsequently to Ukraine and to China. He moved back to head office in 2016 to cover the role of executive vice-president for the management of the exploration projects of Eni.

Michael Oren

Deputy minister in the prime minister's office, Israel

Michael Oren

Deputy minister in the prime minister's office, Israel

Dr Michael Oren is the deputy minister in the prime minister's office. He represents Israel to the world, strengthening Israel's foreign relations and defending its name.

Deputy minister Michael Oren is also a member of Knesset for the Kulanu party. He headed initiatives to improve Israel's public diplomacy and fight BDS.

For nearly five years starting in 2009, Dr Oren served as Israel's ambassador to the United States. He was instrumental in obtaining US defense aid, especially for the Iron Dome system, and American loan guarantees for Israel's economy.

A graduate of Princeton and Columbia, Dr Oren was a visiting professor at Harvard, Yale, and Georgetown. He holds four honorary doctorates and was named Statesman of the Year by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. His last three books—Six Days of War, Power, Faith, and Fantasy, and Ally: My Journal Across the American-Israel Divide—were all New York Times bestsellers. He received the Los Angeles TimesHistory Book of the Year Award, a National Humanities prize, and the Jewish Book Award.

Michael Oren was named by Politico as one of the fifty most influential thinkers in America, by the Forward as one of the five most influential Jews in America, and by the Jerusalem Post as one of the ten most influential Jews worldwide.

He is the father of three and grandfather of four and lives in Jaffa.

Demetris Papadakis

MEP, Movement for Social Democracy (EDEK), Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats

Demetris Papadakis

MEP, Movement for Social Democracy (EDEK), Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats

He was born in Ammochostos (Cyprus) and after the Turkish military invasion, he moved with his family in Limassol.

He studied finance in the Athens University of Economics and Business and he joined the Movement for Social Democracy EDEK at the earliest age.

During his studies, he was elected as chair of Athens EDEK student organisation and then he was Secretary General in the Cyprus Student Union in Athens. His political career began in 2000 when he was elected as Chair in EDEK Youth and forth on, he was member of EDEK Central Committee. For years, he was the spokesperson of EDEK and Secretary General of EDEK Central Committee too.

In May 2014, he was elected as a member of the European Parliament in the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D).

He is the head of Cyprus Delegation and he is currently full member in Foreign Affairs Committee and in the Delegation to the EU - Russia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee. In addition, he is substitute member in Committee on Regional Development, Committee on Petitions and in the Delegation for relations with the countries of Central America.

Andreas Paraschos

Executive editor, Kathimerini newspaper, Cyprus

Andreas Paraschos

Executive editor, Kathimerini newspaper, Cyprus

Andreas Paraschos has been director at Kathimerini Cyprus newspaper since it began publication on 2 November 2008. Previously he held positions as a journalist at Embros newspaper, Radio Super, the first ever private radio station in Cyprus, Third Programme at RIK, Selides magazine at Phileleftheros, ANT1 television network, and ALPHA TV, while he was chief editor at daily Politis where he worked for 10 years from its founding through 2008.

He also served as Cyprus correspondent at Piraeus Municipal Radio "Radio Pente" and London Greek Radio (LGR), while from 1994 until 2014 he worked as a correspondent on the Greek programme of Australian state broadcaster SBS.

He was one of the pioneers in Radiomarathon, a campaign for persons with disabilities which began in 1990 and continues to this day. For 25 years, he has been engaged in investigative journalism focusing on the issue of missing persons in Cyprus, uncovering information that helped start an exhumation and identification process on the island.

He also writes poetry and lyrics and has collaborated with many composers and singers throughout Cyprus and Greece. He holds a Master of Arts degree in International Journalism from the University of Moscow and has received a Certificate of Education from the International Center for Journalists (Washington D.C.).

Leonidas Paschalides

Deputy secretary-general, Cyprus Chamber of Commerce & Industry

Leonidas Paschalides

Deputy secretary-general, Cyprus Chamber of Commerce & Industry

Elizabeth Spehar

Special representative of the secretary-general & head, United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP)

Elizabeth Spehar

Special representative of the secretary-general & head, United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP)

Elizabeth Spehar is currently the special representative of the secretary-general and head of mission of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP). Since the beginning of her tenure in June 2016, Ms Spehar has simultaneously served as deputy special adviser of the secretary-general in support of settlement negotiations in Cyprus.

Prior to her appointment, Ms Spehar was part of senior management in the Department of Political Affairs (DPA) of the UN Secretariat for close to nine years, providing political advice and analysis to UN leadership and supporting the UN’s efforts around the world in the areas of mediation, peacemaking and preventive diplomacy. Specifically, Ms Spehar led several key DPA divisions during that period: the Americas and Europe Division (AED), the subsequently-created Europe Division (ED) and the Policy and Mediation Division (PMD), also serving as the department’s focal point for democracy and chairing the United Nations Democracy Fund’s Programme Consultative Group as well as the Inter-Agency Working Group on Democracy of the Executive Committee on Peace and Security (ECPS).

Before joining the UN Secretariat in 2007, Ms Spehar was a senior official with the Organization of American States (OAS) for over 12 years. Her tenure at the OAS involved heading the Unit for the Promotion of Democracy (UPD) at OAS Headquarters in Washington DC for 9 years, during which time she helped to develop the organization’s work on prevention, dialogue and conflict resolution, organized and led numerous electoral observation missions and participated in several high-level political missions undertaken by the secretariat in the region. She also headed the OAS Electoral Support Programme in Port-au-Prince, Haiti during 2005-6.

Ms Spehar holds a B.A. honours degree from Queen’s University, Canada, a masters’ degree in international affairs from the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs (NPSIA), Carleton University, Canada, and a diplôme d'études supérieures from the University of Pau, Pau, France.

Rolf Strauch

Chief economist, member of the management board, European Stability Mechanism (ESM)

Rolf Strauch

Chief economist, member of the management board, European Stability Mechanism (ESM)

Rolf Strauch is chief economist and management board member in charge of economics, policy strategy, and banking of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), which he joined in July 2010. He is responsible for economic and financial analysis and policies, strategic orientation, and the country monitoring work that the ESM and EFSF undertake. He represents the ESM and EFSF in European fora, negotiates with member states, and handles relations with credit rating agencies.

Prior to this, Mr Strauch worked at the European Central Bank from 2000–10 in the Directorate General Economics on fiscal, monetary, and structural policies. He also served previously as an economist at the Deutsche Bundesbank and as a researcher at both the University of Mannheim and the University of Bonn.

Mr Strauch holds a PhD in economics from the University of Bonn. He is a fellow at the Center for European Integration Studies (ZEI) in Bonn. He is the author of numerous articles and economic publications.

Harry Tzimitras

Dr Harry Tzimitras is the director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo - PRIO Cyprus Centre. In this capacity, he coordinates research and dialogue activities on the search for a political settlement to the island’s division. He is also senior fellow of the Atlantic Council in Washington, D.C. He is associate professor of international law and international relations, specializing in energy security & geopolitics, the law of the sea, foreign policy, and the Eastern Mediterranean.

Previously, he held positions at Istanbul Bilgi University, Koç University, the University of Cambridge and the Institute of International Relations, Athens. His recent publications include A New Initiative for Peace Talks in Cyprus (with A. Gurel), OSCE Yearbook 2017; Energy Developments in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Case of Cyprus (with A. Gurel) in Jalilvand & Westphal (eds.) Changing Dynamics of Energy: Political and Economic Challenges for the MENA-Region, FES & SWP, Routledge 2017; The Need for Realism: Solving the Cyprus Problem through Linkage Politics (with M. Hatay), Brookings Institution, 2016; Cyprus Settlement Negotiations: From Euphoria to Reality (with A. Gurel) Turkish Policy Quarterly 15 (1), 2016; Hydrocarbon Developments in the Eastern Mediterranean: The Case for Pragmatism (in Ellinas & Roberts), Atlantic Council, 2016; Some Preliminary Remarks about the Direction of Turkey-Russia Relations and their Implications for the Cyprus Problem (with A. Gurel), University of St.Gallen, 18 Euxeinos 2015; Gas Can Become the New Lost Opportunity (with A. Gurel) in J. Kerr Lindsay (ed.) Resolving Cyprus: New Approaches to Conflict Resolution, Tauris, 2014.

Andreas Yiasemides

Andreas Yiasemides is a partner at PwC and in charge of the fund services of the organisation.

On his graduation from the University of Manchester with a first class degree in Economics, he joined PwC in 1999 and qualified as a Chartered Accountant (FCA). He continued his career with the Bank of Cyprus, holding various positions including heading the Custody and Trusts Unit. He then moved on to an organisation of professional services where he set up and led the Fund Services Unit.

He has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Bank of Cyprus and of the Central Bank of Cyprus and is the Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Cyprus Investment Fund Association (CIFA). He is also a member of the Cyprus National Advisory Council of the Charter Institute for Securities and Investment (CISI).

Isfandyar Zaman Khan

Isfandyar Zaman Khan is the lead financial sector specialist, for the World Bank Programme in European Union Member States in the areas of financial sector, competitiveness and innovation. He is based in Vienna. He has worked on issues related to financial sector development, financial crisis management and access to finance in a number of countries such as in Bulgaria, Bosnia, China, Croatia, India, Kosovo, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, Turkey.

Prior to the Bank, Mr Zaman Khan worked for Salomon Smith Barney in New York.

Mr Zaman Khan holds a degree in economic policy making and international finance from Columbia University in New York.

Agenda

Arrival of delegates

Cocktail reception

OPENING GALA DINNER

▪ What is the Trump administration’s viewpoint on energy discoveries in the region?

▪ US-Turkey relations: What’s at stake?

EUROPE'S ECONOMIC LANDSCAPE IN A PERIOD OF ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY

▪ UK-Cypriot relations and British presence in eastern Mediterranean: Will they be affected by Brexit?
▪ What strategy should the EU pursue in the banking and financial sectors?

Gus M. Bilirakis

Congressman, United States House of Representatives (via Skype)

Gus M. Bilirakis

Congressman, United States House of Representatives (via Skype)

Congressman Gus M. Bilirakis is a Republican, representing Florida’s 12th Congressional District. He is currently serving his sixth term in the US House of Representatives.

Gus serves on the energy and commerce committee and is vice-chairman of the Veterans’ affairs committee. Working in a bipartisan manner, his main priorities include controlling government spending, creating jobs for middleclass Americans, finding ways for government to operate smaller and smarter, and lowering taxes.

As the grandson of Greek immigrants, Gus is heavily invested in Hellenic affairs. The region is vital to American interests, and Greece is a strong ally of the U.S. He is the Co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus on Hellenic Affairs and the founding Co-Chair of the Congressional Hellenic Israel Alliance, a group of Members dedicated to advancing cooperation between the U.S., Greece, Israel, and Cyprus.

Gus strongly opposes the illegal Turkish occupation of Cyprus and has been a strong proponent of the reunification of Cyprus, on behalf of all the Cypriot people. He believes strongly in protecting religious freedoms across the globe, and stopping the persecution of religious minorities, including Coptic Christians in Egypt and Eastern Orthodox Christians in Turkey.

Prior to being elected to Congress, Gus served four terms in the Florida House of Representatives, where he chaired several prominent panels, including the Economic Development, Trade and Banking Committee.

Gus earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Florida and a J.D. from Stetson University. He interned for President Ronald Reagan and the National Republican Congressional Committee.

Lord Alister Darling

Former chancellor of the exchequer, UK

Lord Alister Darling

Former chancellor of the exchequer, UK

Alistair Darling served as chancellor of the exchequer from 2007 to 2010, during the most turbulent and far-reaching economic crisis the world had seen for 60 years. He is also the man who played the key role in prevention of the collapse of the banking system in the UK. He introduced the measures needed to avert a collapse of the banking system and played a leading part in restoring stability to global financial markets.

Alistair Darling became chief secretary to the treasury in Tony Blair’s first cabinet, moving to work & pensions, and then taking joint responsibility for the Scotland Office and the department of transport. His final role under prime minister Blair was at the helm of trade & industry, after which Gordon Brown promoted him to the Treasury. As chancellor, Alistair was widely credited with preventing recession from spiralling into a repeat of the Great Depression. By the time he left office, government borrowing was less than forecast and unemployment and repossessions were both lower than many had anticipated. In January 2016 he has joined the board of Morgan Stanley.

November 2nd

Friday

8:00 AM

Registration-refreshments

8:50 AM

THE ECONOMIST'S FORECAST ON EUROPE AND CYPRUS

▪ Latest developments in east Mediterranean

John Peet

Political and Brexit editor, The Economist

John Peet

Political and Brexit editor, The Economist

Europe editor, The Economist, since September 2003 and currently political and Brexit editor. Responsible for coverage of all of Europe, including the European Union, Russia, Turkey, the Caucasus and the Balkans.

He has written for The Economist surveys of management consulting, health care, the American South, Spain, the European Union, European Monetary Union, Equity Markets, E-Commerce, the Netherlands, Water, Ireland, Italy, the Future of Europe, Turkey, France and Brexit. In 2014 he co-authored a book, Unhappy Union: how the euro crisis - and Europe - can be fixed.

He has an MA in economics from Cambridge University.

9:00 AM

Official opening

CYPRUS AT THE HELM OF HISTORICAL OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

▪ Will Cyprus' energy strategy endure the region's fragility?

Nicos Anastasiades

President, Cyprus

Nicos Anastasiades

President, Cyprus

Nicos Anastasiades was born in 1946. He is married to Andri Anastasiades and has two daughters. He has a BA in Law (1969) from the University of Athens and a postgraduate diploma in Shipping Law (1971) from the University of London. He has been practicing law since 1972 at the Nicos Anastasiades & Partners law firm, in Limassol.

Political career

Founding member of the Democratic Rally party and its Youth Organisation (1976), district secretary of the Democratic Rally Youth Organisation, NE.DI.SY (1976-85), vice-president (1985-87) and president of NE.DI.SY (1987-90), member of the House of Representatives since 1981 for the Limassol constituency(re-elected in 1985, 1991, 1996, 2001, 2006 and 2011). Elected first vice-president of the Democratic Rally (1990-95), deputy president of the Democratic Rally (1995-97), member of the Cyprus National Council since 1995, president of the Democratic Rally in 1997 and re-elected in 1999, 2003, 2006 and 2012. Elected president of the Republic of Cyprus (24/02/2013).

Parliamentary career

Throughout his parliamentary career, he has served on a number of parliamentary committees either as chairman, vice-chairman or member.

His major positions of responsibility are:

Chairman of the inter-parliamentary Union Committee of the Human Rights of Parliamentarians (1990-96), parliamentary leader of the Democratic Rally (1993-97), deputy president of the House of Representatives (1996-2001), chairman of the House of Representative’s foreign affairs committee (2001-06)

International career

Chairman of the Cyprus Parliamentary Friendship Association, linked with thirty eight (38) other national parliaments. Attended and participated in numerous international conferences, visits and delegations. Member of the Joint Coordinating Greece-Cyprus parliamentary committee. He has been participating since 1985 in all Inter-Parliamentary (IPU) conferences and from 1991 onwards through his position as the leader of the Cyprus delegation. Has attended and participated in a number of the European People’s Party (EPP) European Democrat Union (EDU) and International Democrat Union (IDU) Congresses and Summit Meetings through the Democratic Rally’s capacity as member.

9:20 AM

CYPRUS REUNIFICATION TALKS: CAN WE STILL HOPE?

Elizabeth Spehar

Special representative of the secretary-general & head, United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP)

Elizabeth Spehar

Special representative of the secretary-general & head, United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP)

Elizabeth Spehar is currently the special representative of the secretary-general and head of mission of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP). Since the beginning of her tenure in June 2016, Ms Spehar has simultaneously served as deputy special adviser of the secretary-general in support of settlement negotiations in Cyprus.

Prior to her appointment, Ms Spehar was part of senior management in the Department of Political Affairs (DPA) of the UN Secretariat for close to nine years, providing political advice and analysis to UN leadership and supporting the UN’s efforts around the world in the areas of mediation, peacemaking and preventive diplomacy. Specifically, Ms Spehar led several key DPA divisions during that period: the Americas and Europe Division (AED), the subsequently-created Europe Division (ED) and the Policy and Mediation Division (PMD), also serving as the department’s focal point for democracy and chairing the United Nations Democracy Fund’s Programme Consultative Group as well as the Inter-Agency Working Group on Democracy of the Executive Committee on Peace and Security (ECPS).

Before joining the UN Secretariat in 2007, Ms Spehar was a senior official with the Organization of American States (OAS) for over 12 years. Her tenure at the OAS involved heading the Unit for the Promotion of Democracy (UPD) at OAS Headquarters in Washington DC for 9 years, during which time she helped to develop the organization’s work on prevention, dialogue and conflict resolution, organized and led numerous electoral observation missions and participated in several high-level political missions undertaken by the secretariat in the region. She also headed the OAS Electoral Support Programme in Port-au-Prince, Haiti during 2005-6.

Ms Spehar holds a B.A. honours degree from Queen’s University, Canada, a masters’ degree in international affairs from the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs (NPSIA), Carleton University, Canada, and a diplôme d'études supérieures from the University of Pau, Pau, France.

9:30 AM

Discussion

9:40 AM

ENERGY SECURITY AND REGIONAL CONFLICTS: EAST MEDITERRANEAN IN SEARCH OF STABILITY

▪ The Levantine basin energy reserves: An engine for prosperity or a field of rivalry?
▪ EU-US: do they have a clear strategy for the region?

Nikos Christodoulides

Minister of foreign affairs, Cyprus

Nikos Christodoulides

Minister of foreign affairs, Cyprus

Nikos Christodoulides was born on December 6th 1973 in Paphos.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science, economics, and Byzantine and modern Greek studies from City University of New York, Queens College, with postgraduate studies in political

science at New York University and Diplomatic Studies at the University of Malta. He holds a doctorate from the department of political science and public administration of the University of Athens.

He was a career diplomat between 1999 and 2013. During this time he served as director of the office of the minister of foreign affairs, spokesperson of the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU in Brussels, deputy chief of mission at the Embassy of Cyprus in Greece, director of the office of the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and consul general at the High Commission of the Republic of Cyprus in the UK.

Prior to his appointment as minister of foreign affairs on March 1st 2018, he served as director of the diplomatic office of the president of the Republic of Cyprus (2013-18) and government spokesman (2014-18).

He was a lecturer and research associate at the department of history and archeology of the University of Cyprus between 2007 and 2010. He is the author of two books, Plans for Solution of the Cyprus Problem 1948-1978 (2009) and Relations between Athens and Nicosia and the Cyprus Problem, 1977-1988 (2013). He has also published extensively in domestic and international journals.

He is married to Philippa Karsera and has four daughters, Ioanna, Ekaterini, Despina-Maria, and Phoebe.

Michael Oren

Deputy minister in the prime minister's office, Israel

Michael Oren

Deputy minister in the prime minister's office, Israel

Dr Michael Oren is the deputy minister in the prime minister's office. He represents Israel to the world, strengthening Israel's foreign relations and defending its name.

Deputy minister Michael Oren is also a member of Knesset for the Kulanu party. He headed initiatives to improve Israel's public diplomacy and fight BDS.

For nearly five years starting in 2009, Dr Oren served as Israel's ambassador to the United States. He was instrumental in obtaining US defense aid, especially for the Iron Dome system, and American loan guarantees for Israel's economy.

A graduate of Princeton and Columbia, Dr Oren was a visiting professor at Harvard, Yale, and Georgetown. He holds four honorary doctorates and was named Statesman of the Year by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. His last three books—Six Days of War, Power, Faith, and Fantasy, and Ally: My Journal Across the American-Israel Divide—were all New York Times bestsellers. He received the Los Angeles TimesHistory Book of the Year Award, a National Humanities prize, and the Jewish Book Award.

Michael Oren was named by Politico as one of the fifty most influential thinkers in America, by the Forward as one of the five most influential Jews in America, and by the Jerusalem Post as one of the ten most influential Jews worldwide.

He is the father of three and grandfather of four and lives in Jaffa.

Kathleen Doherty

Ambassador of the United States of America to the Republic of Cyprus

Kathleen Doherty

Ambassador of the United States of America to the Republic of Cyprus

Kathleen Doherty has been the US ambassador to Cyprus since October 2015. She holds the career rank of minister counselor, and in her 28-year career, has served in Italy, the United Kingdom, Russia, Brazil and the Dominican Republic. She also served several years in the State Department in Washington D.C.

Prior to coming to Cyprus, she was the deputy chief of mission in the US embassy in Rome. Prior to that, she was a deputy assistant secretary in the State Department in Washington D.C, where she had responsibility for managing relations with the European Union and thirteen countries in western Europe.

Ambassador Doherty speaks Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Russian, and received one of the department’s highest honors for her work on US-EU relations.
She has an MSc from the London School of Economics and a BA from Colgate University.

Efi Koutsokosta

European affairs specialist, Euronews

Efi Koutsokosta

European affairs specialist, Euronews

Coming from Greece, the lullaby of Europe, Efi embodies Euronews’ European DNA, her entire career has been focused on the issues at the heart of Europe.

Based in Brussels, but travelling all over the continent, she has reported on the major political and economic agendas such as Brexit, the refugee crises or Eurozone crises.

During her time at Euronews Efi has produced and presented multiple shows, such as Brief from Brussels, a daily magazine focused on European and European Union affairs and The Global Conversation, in which she interviews European or national political leaders, including Jean-Claude Juncker, Alexis Tsipras, Martin Schulz and Jeremy Corbyn.

Efi is a regular contributor to various political online outlets and a moderator at the World Bank and the European Parliament panels or most recently at the Economic Forum in Krynica, Poland.

Efi graduated from Panteion University in Athens with a degree in Communications and Journalism.

Discussion

Coffee break

THE EAST MEDITERRANEAN ENERGY BONANZA

Yiorgos Lakkotrypis

Minister of energy, commerce, industry and tourism, Cyprus

Yiorgos Lakkotrypis

Minister of energy, commerce, industry and tourism, Cyprus

Yiorgos Lakkotrypis was born in Nicosia on May 30th 1970.

He is a graduate of the English School, Nicosia and has studied Mathematics and Computer Science (BSc) at the University of Keele in the UK (1988-91). He completed his postgraduate studies in Business Administration (MBA) at the University of Colorado in the USA, on a Fulbright scholarship (1993-95).

In 1991 he joined Joannou & Paraskevaides, assigned to oversee the IT systems at the company’s branch in Benghazi, Libya. In 1995, upon his return to Cyprus from his studies in the US, he joined IBM Cyprus, where for the next 6 years he worked in sales.

In 2003 he was the first employee hired by Microsoft in Cyprus, entrusted with developing the company’s operations in the country. In 2008 he was appointed managing director for Microsoft Cyprus and Malta, while in November 2011 he was promoted to public sector director for Microsoft central & eastern Europe.

In addition, in 2008 he was appointed by the council of ministers as a member of the board of directors of the Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency (CIPA), a position he held until November 2011. In 2009 he was also appointed as a member of the board of directors of the Natural Gas Public Company (DEFA), a position he held until his appointment as minister.

Mr Lakkotrypis has been holding the office of minister of energy, commerce, industry and tourism since March 1st 2013.

He is married to Christiana and they have two daughters, Marina and Angelina.

Tristan Aspray

Tristan Aspray

Tristan Aspray was educated in England, receiving a bachelor’s degree in geological sciences from Cambridge University in 1992 and a master’s degree in basin evolution and dynamics from
London University in 1993.

Tristan joined Esso Exploration and Production UK Limited in 1994 as a petroleum geologist, working on central North Sea fields. In subsequent assignments he has worked on exploration and development projects in a variety of areas, including the Gulf of Mexico, Libya, Egypt, Vietnam and Russia. In 2008 he became an upstream adviser to ExxonMobil’s management committee in Dallas, Texas. Tristan was then seconded into XTO Energy, a major producer of unconventional gas in the United States which was acquired by ExxonMobil in 2010. In September 2011 he moved back to the United Kingdom to take on the role of Europe exploration operations manager, in which his portfolio ranged from onshore shale gas in Germany and Poland to deep water gas exploration in the Romanian Black Sea.

Tristan became vice-president of business development, ExxonMobil Exploration Company, in May 2014 and in July 2015 moved to his current position of vice-president of Europe, Russia, Caspian, ExxonMobil Exploration Company.

He is married with two children, and his interests include hiking, kayaking, history, cycling and wildlife photography.

Gene Kornegay

Cyprus Country manager, Noble Energy

Gene Kornegay

Cyprus Country manager, Noble Energy

L. Gene Kornegay is the Republic of Cyprus country manager for Noble Energy, based in Nicosia, Cyprus. He previously served for Noble Energy as country manager of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, one of the company’s core producing areas, and country manager of the Republic of Cameroon. Prior to joining Noble Energy, Mr Kornegay served as president, chief operating officer and member of the board of directors of GLOBEX Energy Inc. a privately held international upstream oil and natural gas company based in Houston, Texas. Earlier Mr Kornegay served in a number of management positions at ConocoPhillips.

Currently, Mr Kornegay serves on Noble Energy’s Corporate Compliance and Ethics Committee and is a member of the International Advisory Board of Texas A&M University.

Mr Kornegay’s career path led he and his family to live in Africa, Europe and the Middle East. He and his wife Donna currently reside in Nicosia, Cyprus.

Yannis Grigoriou

CEO, Hellenic Petroleum Upstream

Yannis Grigoriou

CEO, Hellenic Petroleum Upstream

Yannis is a mining engineer (NTU of Athens, 1978) and a geophysicist (MSc applied geophysics, University of Leeds, UK, 1979) with 36 years’ experience in oil and gas industry.

He began his carrier in 1982 at DEP SA (Greek E&P Company, operator in 26 block in Greece), as a geophysicist and gradually developed as explorationist in upstream business undertaking also various managerial positions. In 1998 he joined the Hellenic Petroleum Group, listed in Athens SE, and as dep. manager of the group’s business planning, he participated in numerous M&A corporate projects both in the upstream and the downstream sector (amongst them group IPOs, DEPA’s acquisition, merge with Paneuropean Holdings, BP retail network acquisition in Cyprus, OKTA refinery acquisition etc).

In 2005 Yannis was appointed business development manager for E&P of hydrocarbons, participating actively in the international growth of the company by forming more than 20 JVs with international oil companies, submitting offers in licensing rounds and acquiring explorations and production rights in Libya, Egypt, Albania and Montenegro where discovered more than 200 mln bbls. Currently he manages the E&P business of the group, focusing on the Greek fast growing upstream market where Hellenic Petroleum is building a promising portfolio of blocks, either as operator or as partner international JVs (with Total, ExxonMobil, Repsol and Edison) mainly offshore and onshore in W. Greece.

During 1997-2003 he served as adviser to EU Commission in the energy sector. Yannis was also appointed member of BoD in Hellenic Petroleum retail companies (Cyprus, Albania and Montenegro) and from 2015 onwards in the group’s upstream affiliates. He is member of AIPN and he serves, as elected VP, in the steering committee of the CEEC Scout Group.

Aldo Napolitano

Executive vice-president exploration projects management, Eni

Aldo Napolitano

Executive vice-president exploration projects management, Eni

Aldo has been working in the oil & gas sector since more than 30 years. In 1991 he entered Eni as exploration geophysicist. He subsequently covered the positions of exploration manager in Algeria, in Libya and in the United Kingdom.

Starting from 2004 he held various positions with regional (South Europe and Africa) and then worldwide responsibility for exploration planning and new ventures and from 2008 for the unconventional exploration projects of Eni. He then moved in 2011 as managing director to Poland and subsequently to Ukraine and to China. He moved back to head office in 2016 to cover the role of executive vice-president for the management of the exploration projects of Eni.

Yves Grosjean

General manager, Total EP Cyprus

Yves Grosjean

General manager, Total EP Cyprus

12:10 PM

Discussion

12:30 PM

HYDROCARBON EXPLORATION IN THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN: WHAT SHOULD WE EXPECT FROM HEREON?

Demetris Fessas

Acting general manager, Cyprus Hydrocarbons Company

Demetris Fessas

Acting general manager, Cyprus Hydrocarbons Company

Demetris C. Fessas is a chartered engineer accredited by the UK Engineering Council and is also a fellow of the Institute of Marine Engineers, Scientists and Technologists.

He has been involved in the oil and gas industry for over 20 years, starting with design engineering on both topsides and subsea applications, progressing to subsea construction and followed by operations management. With initial experience based in the North Sea, followed by West Africa where he has been involved in deep-water developments in an engineering, operations and commercial management capacity. His latter experience has been with one of the leading subsea contractors, Subsea7, and with major operator, BP, where Demetris has developed and lead local teams in frontier locations.

Since mid-2015, Demetris has been employed by the Cyprus Hydrocarbons Company (CHC) and is currently the acting general manager responsible for leading CHC in its role as the National Oil & Gas Company of the Republic of Cyprus.

Symeon Kassianides

Dr Symeon Kassianides is the founder, CEO and chairman of the Hyperion Systems Engineering Group.

He holds a PhD and DIC in chemical engineering from Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London (UK), a BSc in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA) and has over 20 years of experience in project execution and management of technology in the process manufacturing industries.

Since March 2017 he has been the chairman of the Natural Gas Public Company (DEFA).

Yannis Bassias

President and CEO, Hellenic Hydrocarbon Resources Management

Yannis Bassias

President and CEO, Hellenic Hydrocarbon Resources Management

Yannis Bassias has 25 years in the international oil and gas exploration and services business. Since 2012 he has been advising several companies in EEZs of the Indian Ocean, Equatorial America and west Africa on geological and legal aspects of frontier hydrocarbon basins.

From 1997 to 2012, as president of Georex group, he demerged the exploration assets from the service activities and established technical subsidiaries in France, United Kingdom, Tunisia and the Republic of Congo. He has managed database projects on CIS reservoirs, data mergers for Total, PetroFina and Elf, seismic data transcription for Snpc and Esso. Between 1996 and 2000 he directed evaluation teams for the development of oil and gas interests in Texas and Colombia and in 2007 initiated for Poros onshore exploration portfolios with assets in the Paris basin and Tunisia.

Before joining the petroleum industry had an academic career at the Free University of Berlin and was associate professor in the National Museum of Natural History, Paris, with main research focus the Precambrian of Morocco and sedimentary basins and ridges of the Indian Ocean, geologist, PhD in tectonics and stratigraphy, he is author of more than 30 publications in international scientific or industry journals.

Charles Ellinas

Charles Ellinas has over 35 years experience in the oil & gas sector in senior management positions.

Currently he is the CEO of e-CNHC (E-C Cyprus Natural Hydrocarbons Company Ltd), providing management and advisory services in the oil & gas and energy sectors in Cyprus and the region. A lot needs to be done and the aim of the company is to contribute to the successful development of these sectors for the future of Cyprus.

Prior to this, as CEO of KRETYK he was responsible for implementing the Cypriot government’s strategy for the development of its hydrocarbons sector.

Until 2012 Charles Ellinas was a director of Mott MacDonald for 25 years and the managing director of Mott MacDonald’s Oil, Gas & Petrochemicals business world-wide.

Cleopatra Kitti

Founder, The Mediterranean Growth Initiative (MGI)

Cleopatra Kitti

Founder, The Mediterranean Growth Initiative (MGI)

Cleopatra is the founder of The Mediterranean Growth Initiative, the real time economic data analysis platform for all the economies of the Mediterranean region, is a certified independent director and non executive board member.

Cleopatra advises international and regional businesses looking to invest or are operating in the Mediterranean region, on governance, investment, and business continuity. She serves on the boards of a leading international commodity trading platform; a regional travel and tourism business; is an adviser to an international LPG trading company and a US oil and gas corporation active in the Mediterranean.

Her sectors of expertise include energy and natural resources; financial services; technology and telecommunications; investments and partnerships; government and public sector.

Cleopatra’s geographic expertise covers the markets of Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and the European Union (EU) institutional capital, Brussels. She has lived and worked in six different European countries, in the UAE and in Turkey over the last 20 years.

As longtime supporter, Cleopatra is a member of the international advisory board of The International Crisis Group, a conflict prevention and conflict management international NGO. She is an ambassador of INSEAD Independent Directors Network, and a member of the Institute of Directors, promoting effective corporate governance practices; and a member of the Arab International Women’s Forum, actively engaged in women's contribution to the economy, policy making and society.

12:50 PM

Discussion

1:10 PM

THE ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL LANDSCAPE IN EUROPE AND CYPRUS

What are the priorities for Cyprus’ economy?

The rise of protectionism and its impact on Europe

Lessons from the bailout programmes

Putting an end to austerity

Harris Georgiades

Minister of finance, Cyprus

Harris Georgiades

Minister of finance, Cyprus

Harris Georgiades was born in 1972 in Nicosia. He was appointed as minister of finance of the Republic of Cyprus on April 3rd 2013 and was reappointed on March 1st 2018.

He had the leading role in the implementation and successful conclusion of the reform and consolidation programme for the Cyprus economy after the financial crisis of 2012-13. He participates in the Eurogroup and the ECOFIN. He was elected chairman of the board of governors of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development for the period 2014-15 and is a member of the board of governors of the International Monetary Fund, the European Investment Bank and the European Stability Mechanism.

He was selected by POLITICO as one of the 28 most-influential Europeans for 2016. He is a member of the Young Leaders for Europe community of the World Economic Forum.

Prior to his appointment as minister he was a member of the House of Representatives with the Democratic Rally Party (2011-13). He also served as press spokesman and as member of the Executive of the Democratic Rally. In parallel, he managed a family-owned hotel business (1999-2013).

He studied international relations and economics (BA, MA, 1992-96) at the University of Reading, UK and was a post-graduate researcher at the Institute of European and International Studies, University of Reading (1996-98). He graduated from the English School, Nicosia (1983-1990) and served his military service in the Cyprus National Guard as a non-commissioned officer of the Artillery.

He is married to Eva Georgiades, who works as a schools-councilor, and they have a young daughter.

Rolf Strauch

Chief economist, member of the management board, European Stability Mechanism (ESM)

Rolf Strauch

Chief economist, member of the management board, European Stability Mechanism (ESM)

Rolf Strauch is chief economist and management board member in charge of economics, policy strategy, and banking of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), which he joined in July 2010. He is responsible for economic and financial analysis and policies, strategic orientation, and the country monitoring work that the ESM and EFSF undertake. He represents the ESM and EFSF in European fora, negotiates with member states, and handles relations with credit rating agencies.

Prior to this, Mr Strauch worked at the European Central Bank from 2000–10 in the Directorate General Economics on fiscal, monetary, and structural policies. He also served previously as an economist at the Deutsche Bundesbank and as a researcher at both the University of Mannheim and the University of Bonn.

Mr Strauch holds a PhD in economics from the University of Bonn. He is a fellow at the Center for European Integration Studies (ZEI) in Bonn. He is the author of numerous articles and economic publications.

Philip Gerson

Deputy director, European department, IMF

Philip Gerson

Deputy director, European department, IMF

Philip Gerson is deputy director of the IMF’s European department, where he supervises the department’s work on several countries and serves as mission chief for the United Kingdom.

In nearly 25 years at the Fund he has worked on a variety of advanced and emerging market economies in Europe, the Western Hemisphere and Asia. He has also been an advisor to the Fund’s deputy managing director and overseen the Fiscal Monitor, the IMF’s flagship fiscal publication.

He holds a PhD in economics from The Johns Hopkins University, an MPhil from the University of Cambridge, and an AB from Dartmouth College.

Evgenios Evgeniou

Chief executive officer, PwC Cyprus

Evgenios Evgeniou

Chief executive officer, PwC Cyprus

Evgenios is the CEO and senior partner of PwC Cyprus. He is also a member of the EMEA Leadership Team of PwC. He started his career with PwC in London in 1990 and was admitted to partnership in 2001. He has worked with PwC in London and on short secondment in Athens and Moscow.

Before becoming CEO, he was a member of the firm’s executive board, the banking and capital markets services leader and the HC leader. He was also a member of the management team for the assurance practice of PwC in continental Europe.

Evgenios is a member of the board of the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry, ICAEW contact member for Cyprus, vice-president of the board of the Nicosia Chamber of Commerce and president of the Cyprus-Russia Business Association. He was a member of the board of directors of CIPA from 2011 until 2016. He is a member of the board of Junior Achievement Cyprus and member of the advisory board of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) at the University of Cyprus.

Evgenios graduated from Imperial College London and he is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. He has attended leadership development programmes of PwC.

Athanasios Ellis

Editor in chief of Kathimerini English edition, Kathimerini newspaper

Athanasios Ellis

Editor in chief of Kathimerini English edition, Kathimerini newspaper

Athanasios Ellis is editor in chief of Kathimerini English edition which is published in Greece and Cyprus in cooperation with the New York Times as a single paper. He was for many years Washington correspondent for Kathimerini, Antenna TV, Athens News Agency, and the Greek Service of Deutsche Welle.

He has interviewed numerous foreign leaders and influential politicians, among them Turkish leaders Tayip Erdogan, Abdullah Gul, and Ahmet Davutoglu, US vice-president Biden, European Commission presidents Junker and Baroso, IMF managing directors Lagarde and Strauss Khan, US secretaries of state Colin Powell and Madeleine Albright. He has reported from various foreign capitals, including Washington (and New York), Beijing, Tokyo, Brussels, Berlin, London, Paris, Rome, Vienna, Ankara (and Istanbul), Nicosia and Cairo. He has appeared on international media to analyze Greek elections, the economic crisis, Greek-Turkish relations and the Cyprus issue, the war in Yugoslavia, the capture of “November 17”, Greece’s preparation for the 2004 Olympic Games, etc.

He has a B.A. in economics and political science from Boston University (Boston), and a MA in international relations from Boston University in Paris, France. He then got a diploma in journalism from New York University.

1:40 PM

Discussion

2:00 PM

Networking buffet luncheon

3:00 PM

THE EUROPEAN BANKING SECTOR: PERFORMING A BALANCING ACT

▪ How is Brexit affecting the capital markets in Europe?
▪ Non-performing loans and the Cypriot banking sector: What is to be done?
▪ Investing in the economy-attracting foreign capital

Yannis Matsis

Chief executive officer and executive member of the board of directors, Hellenic Bank

Yannis Matsis

Chief executive officer and executive member of the board of directors, Hellenic Bank

Since April 2017, Yannis Matsis is the chief executive officer and executive member of the board of directors of Hellenic Bank in Cyprus. Between January 2014 and April 2017, Yannis also served as a non-executive member of the board of directors of Hellenic Bank, during which time he served for certain periods as chairman of the risk committee, chairman of the remuneration committee, member of the audit committee and member of the nominations committee of the board of directors.

Yannis Matsis made his career in investment banking in the City of London. He has more than 20 years of professional experience in senior positions, successfully building and managing global debt capital market teams, spread around geographical locations such as London, New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore and Sao Paulo.

Prior to his current role, Yannis was partner and a co-founder of Point Nine, a company that offers technology and middle and back office trade processing, operations and reporting outsourcing services to financial institutions.

Yannis graduated from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, first with a bachelor's (B.A.) degree and then with a master's (M.Eng.) degree in chemical engineering. Prior to that, he had attended and graduated from the English School in Nicosia, Cyprus.

Demetra Kalogerou

Chairwoman, Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission

Demetra Kalogerou

Chairwoman, Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission

Demetra Kalogerou (BSc, MSc, MPhil) is the chairwoman of the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), the public independent supervisory authority responsible for the overall supervision of the securities market in Cyprus.

Also, as of November 2012, she is a member of the Cyprus Public Audit Oversight Board, which has been established for the oversight of auditors and audit firms. Furthermore, from September 2013 to June 2014 Mrs Kalogerou served as member of the then tripartite Resolution Authority together with the minister of finance and the governor of the Central Bank of Cyprus.

Previously she held the position of a senior officer of the Cyprus Stock Exchange and overall she has more than 15 years’ experience in the financial sector.

Isfandyar Zaman Khan

Isfandyar Zaman Khan is the lead financial sector specialist, for the World Bank Programme in European Union Member States in the areas of financial sector, competitiveness and innovation. He is based in Vienna. He has worked on issues related to financial sector development, financial crisis management and access to finance in a number of countries such as in Bulgaria, Bosnia, China, Croatia, India, Kosovo, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, Turkey.

Prior to the Bank, Mr Zaman Khan worked for Salomon Smith Barney in New York.

Mr Zaman Khan holds a degree in economic policy making and international finance from Columbia University in New York.

Andreas Yiasemides

Andreas Yiasemides is a partner at PwC and in charge of the fund services of the organisation.

On his graduation from the University of Manchester with a first class degree in Economics, he joined PwC in 1999 and qualified as a Chartered Accountant (FCA). He continued his career with the Bank of Cyprus, holding various positions including heading the Custody and Trusts Unit. He then moved on to an organisation of professional services where he set up and led the Fund Services Unit.

He has served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Bank of Cyprus and of the Central Bank of Cyprus and is the Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Cyprus Investment Fund Association (CIFA). He is also a member of the Cyprus National Advisory Council of the Charter Institute for Securities and Investment (CISI).

Henry MacNevin

Associate managing director, Moody's Investors Service

Henry MacNevin

Associate managing director, Moody's Investors Service

Henry MacNevin is currently an associate managing director responsible for bank ratings in Italy and in several countries in central and eastern Europe, based in London.

Mr MacNevin joined Moody’s London-based banking team in October 1996, since when he has followed banks as lead analyst, as well as in Italy, in the United Kingdom, the Nordic region, Belgium, Luxembourg and Hungary, and has also worked as backup analyst for other banking systems, principally in Europe. Mr MacNevin’s previous banking experience includes seven years with the Barclays group, where he held positions in strategic planning, corporate banking, and credit risk management.

Mr MacNevin earned a BA (Hons) in Business Studies from Portsmouth Polytechnic in the United Kingdom.

3:40 PM

Discussion

4:00 PM

INVEST IN CYPRUS AND THE REGION: LEAVING NO STONE UNTURNED

▪ Large-scale projects in Cyprus: what's next?
▪ Developments in the shipping industry
▪ At the forefront of the hospitality business
▪ Investment migration industry trends: The push and pull factors

Natasa Pilides

Shipping deputy minister to the president, Cyprus

Natasa Pilides

Shipping deputy minister to the president, Cyprus

Natasa Pilides has been the shipping deputy minister to the president since March 1st 2018.

Previously, she served as the director-general of the Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency since April 2016, responsible for the design and implementation of the organisation’s strategy in
investment promotion, investor support and facilitation of reform, in close collaboration with the Cyprus government.

Natasa’s work experience includes more than fifteen years in the private sector. She served as a director and regional chief operating officer at Baker Tilly in south-east Europe, heading the departments of finance, marketing, HR, administration, operations and IT for Cyprus, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria and Moldova. For 9 years she worked at PwC, in Cyprus, Milan and London in the areas of audit and tax consulting, providing services to multinational companies active in the fields of banking and finance, shipping, insurance, energy, construction and FMCG.

Natasa has wide experience in delivering professional training and courses for ICAEW, ACCA and CIMA exams in the areas of audit, tax, corporate law, ethics, financial accounting and reporting, at BPP London, one of the leading professional studies organisations worldwide.

Natasa graduated from Oxford University with a first-class honours degree with distinction inmodern languages and literature (French and Italian). She is afellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (ICAEW) and a member of the Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus (ICPAC). She is fluent in Greek, English, French and Italian. She has represented and promoted Cyprus as an investment destination abroad throughout her career and has published various articles in international professional publications.

Dominique Bolli

Head of government advisory practice, Henley & Partners

Dominique Bolli

Head of government advisory practice, Henley & Partners

Dominique N. Bolli is the head of Henley & Partners’ government advisory practice.

He holds a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., a certificate of political studies from Science Po, Lyon II and completed his studies in quantitative portfolio management at the University of Geneva.

Leonidas Paschalides

Deputy secretary-general, Cyprus Chamber of Commerce & Industry

Leonidas Paschalides

Deputy secretary-general, Cyprus Chamber of Commerce & Industry

Christoforos Hadjikyprianou

CEO & president of the council, European University Cyprus

Christoforos Hadjikyprianou

CEO & president of the council, European University Cyprus

Dr Christoforos Hadjikyprianou has a career of more than 30 years in the higher education sector. He is currently the CEO and president of the council of European University Cyprus.

His strong areas of expertise are strategic planning and execution; marketing & sales execution; best in class customer service models; performance optimization and change management. He has teaching and consulting experience in business administration, human resource management and management.

He is also a member of Galileo Global Education Executive Committee. As a member of Galileo Global Education Executive Committee, he is highly involved in the management and strategic direction of Galileo in different countries. He has also been a member of the Laureate Europe Executive Committee for 5 years.

Dr Hadjikyprianou participates actively in discussion panels and forums on issues such as competitiveness, talent development and innovation. He is a judge of the European Business Awards and a member of the board of the Cyprus-Jordan Association. He also serves in various social and athletic committees and is currently the secretary general of the Cyprus University Sports Federation.

He holds a BSc in Industrial Technology and an MBA from Southern Illinois University, USA. He also holds a doctorate degree from Middlesex University, UK in enrollment management and consumer behaviour in higher education.

4:40 PM

Discussion

5:00 PM

RECONCILIATING NORTH AND SOUTH

▪ Populism, protectionism, geopolitical tension: How serious is the threat for European security and stability?
▪ How far can the Rome-Brussels conflict reach?
▪ Do Macron's ideas still have a momentum?
▪ Can Germany provide leadership to the Union?

Vladimir Chizhov

Ambassador, permanent representative of the Russian Federation to the European Union

Vladimir Chizhov

Ambassador, permanent representative of the Russian Federation to the European Union

Vladimir Chizhov was born on December 3rd, 1953.

He graduated with honours from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO - University) and joined the diplomatic service in 1976.

2005: Permanent representative of the Russian Federation to the European Communities, Brussels, Belgium

Since 2010: Permanent representative of the Russian Federation to the European Union, Brussels, Belgium

Conducted analytical research work on European security, OSCE, Russia-EU and Russia-NATO relations, Mediterranean, Balkans, problems of Cyprus and Northern Ireland, UN peace-keeping operations.

Diplomatic Rank: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (2000)

Decorated with state awards

Languages: English, Greek, French

Marital status: married, two children

Constantinos Petrides

Minister of interior, Cyprus

Constantinos Petrides

Minister of interior, Cyprus

Constantinos Petrides assumed office as minister of interior on the 11th of April 2017. Previously, he had been the deputy minister to the president of the Republic of Cyprus since March 1st 2013. In addition to his other duties, he had been assigned by the president Nicos Anastasiades the leading role for the growth reform, including civil service reform.

Prior to his appointment as deputy minister, Mr Petrides was the director of the office of the president of the Democratic Rally (9/2011 – 2/2013). In 2006 he was hired at the European Commission in Brussels where he worked as an economist at the Directorate General for Agriculture and the Directorate General for Competition until September 2011. During his stay at the European Commission he served as negotiator of trade liberalisation agreements between the EU and third countries and also worked on issues of public aid in the field of transportations. From 2000 until 2006 he served as senior officer at the Association of Cyprus Banks and as representative of the Association to the European Banking Federation and the National Euro Changeover Committee. During the negotiations for Cyprus’ accession to the EU in 2000 he worked on issues of harmonisation at the Directorate for EU-Cyprus relations of the Planning Bureau.

He studied economics at the University of Nottingham and then acquired an MSc in political economy of transition in Europe from the London School of Economics and Political Sciences.

David Gorman

Eurasia regional director, Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (CHD)

David Gorman

Eurasia regional director, Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (CHD)

David has more than 25 years of experience in the field of peacemaking.

He started his career in the Middle East and he went on to work for international organisations on a wide range of conflicts around the world. David has been based in the Philippines, Indonesia, Liberia, Bosnia as well as the West Bank and Gaza and has been working in Eurasia for the last several years.

He graduated from the London School of Economics, was featured in the award winning film ‘Miles and War’ as well as several publications and has published several articles on mediation.

Iain Begg

Professorial research fellow at the European Institute, London School of Economics and Political Science

Iain Begg

Professorial research fellow at the European Institute, London School of Economics and Political Science

Iain Begg is a professorial research fellow at the European Institute and co-director of the Dahrendorf Forum on the Future of Europe, London School of Economics and Political Science.

He has directed and participated in a series of research projects on different facets of EU governance and economic policy, including work on fiscal policy coordination and fiscal rules, the future of the EU’s finances, and reform of cohesion policy. Since 2015, he has also been a prominent contributor to the ‘Brexit’ debate.

He recently served as a specialist adviser to the House of Lords European Communities Committee for successive inquiries into the development of EU economic governance, and has held a similar role for previous inquiries into cohesion policy and the EU budget. He has undertaken a number of other advisory roles and is a frequent contributor to international conferences on EU economic policy issues.

Thanos Dokos

Thanos Dokos

Thanos P. Dokos received his Ph.D. in international relations from Cambridge University and has held research posts at HSFK (Frankfurt, 1989-90) and the Center for Science and International Affairs (CSIA) at Harvard University (1990-91). He served as the director for research, Strategic Studies Division, Hellenic Ministry of National Defence (1996-98) and as an adviser on NATO issues to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1998-1999). He is currently the director-general of ELIAMEP.

He has taught at the Universities of Athens and Piraeus, the Hellenic National Defence College, the Diplomatic Academy and the Hellenic National Security School. His research interests include global trends, international security, Greek-Turkish relations & Mediterranean security. Publications include: The Eastern Mediterranean and the Gulf region in 2020, German Marshall Fund, Brussels, 2011; Energy developments and Greek foreign policy: The Southern Gas Corridor as a major opportunity for Greece (with Theodore Tsakiris), ELIAMEP Policy Papers, Athens, February 2012; Energy Geopolitics in the Eastern Mediterranean: The Role of Greece, Tel Aviv University, February 2016; White Paper for Greek Foreign, Defence and Security policy (ed., in Greek, 2016); The Eastern Mediterranean in 2020: Possible Scenarios and Policy Recommendations (ed.), ELIAMEP-KAS Policy Paper, April 2016; The EU and the Western Balkans as a Single Security Space in ‘Resilience in the Western Balkans’, EUISS Report, September 2017.

Harry Tzimitras

Dr Harry Tzimitras is the director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo - PRIO Cyprus Centre. In this capacity, he coordinates research and dialogue activities on the search for a political settlement to the island’s division. He is also senior fellow of the Atlantic Council in Washington, D.C. He is associate professor of international law and international relations, specializing in energy security & geopolitics, the law of the sea, foreign policy, and the Eastern Mediterranean.

Previously, he held positions at Istanbul Bilgi University, Koç University, the University of Cambridge and the Institute of International Relations, Athens. His recent publications include A New Initiative for Peace Talks in Cyprus (with A. Gurel), OSCE Yearbook 2017; Energy Developments in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Case of Cyprus (with A. Gurel) in Jalilvand & Westphal (eds.) Changing Dynamics of Energy: Political and Economic Challenges for the MENA-Region, FES & SWP, Routledge 2017; The Need for Realism: Solving the Cyprus Problem through Linkage Politics (with M. Hatay), Brookings Institution, 2016; Cyprus Settlement Negotiations: From Euphoria to Reality (with A. Gurel) Turkish Policy Quarterly 15 (1), 2016; Hydrocarbon Developments in the Eastern Mediterranean: The Case for Pragmatism (in Ellinas & Roberts), Atlantic Council, 2016; Some Preliminary Remarks about the Direction of Turkey-Russia Relations and their Implications for the Cyprus Problem (with A. Gurel), University of St.Gallen, 18 Euxeinos 2015; Gas Can Become the New Lost Opportunity (with A. Gurel) in J. Kerr Lindsay (ed.) Resolving Cyprus: New Approaches to Conflict Resolution, Tauris, 2014.

Andreas Paraschos

Executive editor, Kathimerini newspaper, Cyprus

Andreas Paraschos

Executive editor, Kathimerini newspaper, Cyprus

Andreas Paraschos has been director at Kathimerini Cyprus newspaper since it began publication on 2 November 2008. Previously he held positions as a journalist at Embros newspaper, Radio Super, the first ever private radio station in Cyprus, Third Programme at RIK, Selides magazine at Phileleftheros, ANT1 television network, and ALPHA TV, while he was chief editor at daily Politis where he worked for 10 years from its founding through 2008.

He also served as Cyprus correspondent at Piraeus Municipal Radio "Radio Pente" and London Greek Radio (LGR), while from 1994 until 2014 he worked as a correspondent on the Greek programme of Australian state broadcaster SBS.

He was one of the pioneers in Radiomarathon, a campaign for persons with disabilities which began in 1990 and continues to this day. For 25 years, he has been engaged in investigative journalism focusing on the issue of missing persons in Cyprus, uncovering information that helped start an exhumation and identification process on the island.

He also writes poetry and lyrics and has collaborated with many composers and singers throughout Cyprus and Greece. He holds a Master of Arts degree in International Journalism from the University of Moscow and has received a Certificate of Education from the International Center for Journalists (Washington D.C.).

5:25 PM

Discussion

6:20 PM

THE FUTURE OF EUROPE

Roundtable Discussion:

Lefteris Christoforou

MEP, Democratic Rally (DISY), European People's Party

Lefteris Christoforou

MEP, Democratic Rally (DISY), European People's Party

Lefteris Christoforou was born in 1963 at Prastio, a currently occupied village west of Famagusta.

He studied economics at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki on a scholarship and graduated with distinction. He continued with postgraduate studies in business administration.

He has worked in the financial sector in Cyprus but also abroad and gained significant experience in the fields of finance and banking.
In 1996, he was elected as a member of the Cypriot House of Representatives with DISY.

Mr Christoforou held the presidency of the Parliamentary Committee on Trade, Energy, Industry and Tourism and was a member on several other Committees such as: Refugees-Enclaved-Missing-Adversely Affected Persons Committee; Committee of Internal Affairs and Committee on Financial and Budgetary Affairs. In 2004, he was appointed by the Cypriot House of Representatives as an observant member of the European Parliament.

Mr Christoforou was elected as a member of the European Parliament in 2014. At the European Parliament, he is a member of two very important committees: the Committee on Budgets and the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy. Furthermore, he participates at the PANA committee of inquiry, which was established to investigate alleged contraventions and maladministration in relation to money laundering, tax avoidance and tax evasion. Finally, he serves as a deputy chair of the Democratic Rally since 2013.

He is married to Diamanto Orthodoxou and is a father of two children, Panagiots and Lukia.

Demetris Papadakis

MEP, Movement for Social Democracy (EDEK), Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats

Demetris Papadakis

MEP, Movement for Social Democracy (EDEK), Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats

He was born in Ammochostos (Cyprus) and after the Turkish military invasion, he moved with his family in Limassol.

He studied finance in the Athens University of Economics and Business and he joined the Movement for Social Democracy EDEK at the earliest age.

During his studies, he was elected as chair of Athens EDEK student organisation and then he was Secretary General in the Cyprus Student Union in Athens. His political career began in 2000 when he was elected as Chair in EDEK Youth and forth on, he was member of EDEK Central Committee. For years, he was the spokesperson of EDEK and Secretary General of EDEK Central Committee too.

In May 2014, he was elected as a member of the European Parliament in the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D).

He is the head of Cyprus Delegation and he is currently full member in Foreign Affairs Committee and in the Delegation to the EU - Russia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee. In addition, he is substitute member in Committee on Regional Development, Committee on Petitions and in the Delegation for relations with the countries of Central America.

6:40 PM

Discussion

7:00 PM

End of conference

Venue

Relax at the Hilton Park Nicosia hotel, set in a peaceful area of one of the most prestigious neighborhoods of the capital city, just four kilometers from the city center and a 50-minute drive from Larnaca International Airport.

Host events, weddings, and meetings in Nicosia, Cyprus for between 20 and 4,500 guests taking advantage of the extensive function space and expert organizational skills of the events team. Catch up with work at the business center, featuring an array of office equipment, secretarial services, and complimentary high-speed internet access.

Work out at the Sana Hiltonia Gym with an array of fitness options to choose from including a fully equipped fitness center, over 25 premium exercise classes each week, tennis courts, personal trainers, and indoor and outdoor pool facilities. The relaxing sauna, whirlpool, and steam room facilities provide the perfect way to unwind after busy days sightseeing or working.

Sample local cuisine or choose traditional favorites poolside in one of four dining and beverage options at the Hilton Park Nicosia hotel. Listen to authentic Greek music while sipping a refreshing cocktail, or enjoy an indulgent desert with an aromatic coffee in a relaxed café setting.

Communication sponsor

Kathimerini Cyprus

Contributor

NATURAL GAS PUBLIC COMPANY OF CYPRUS

The Natural Gas Public Company of Cyprus (known by its Greek acronym DEFA) was incorporated by the Republic of Cyprus in 2007, to facilitate the importation and distribution of natural gas to the Cyprus energy market.

Airline carrier

AEGEAN AIRLINES

IT sponsor

SiEBEN-POBUCA

SiEBEN - Pobuca is a CRM software house that offers turnkey solutions to brands and retailers, employing Artificial Intelligence (AI) to unleash business creativity and productivity in the digital era.

Speaking opportunities

Sponsorship opportunities

Download Brochure

The Economist Events is a part of the Economist Group. We would love to keep you informed about other Economist events, newly-released content, our best subscription offers, and great new product offerings from The Economist Group.

I wish to be contacted by email.

I also wish to sign up to the EIU (Economist Intelligence Unit) Perspectives newsletter.

The Economist Group is a global organisation and operates a strict privacy policy around the world. Please see our privacy policy here

Attending Request

By submitting this form we will send you updates associated with this event.

The Economist Events is a part of the Economist Group. We would love to keep you informed about other Economist events, newly-released content, our best subscription offers, and great new product offerings from The Economist Group.

I wish to be contacted by email.

I also wish to sign up to the EIU (Economist Intelligence Unit) Perspectives newsletter.

The Economist Group is a global organisation and operates a strict privacy policy around the world. Please see our privacy policy here

Media partnership and press Request

By submitting this form we will send you updates associated with this event.

The Economist Events is a part of the Economist Group. We would love to keep you informed about other Economist events, newly-released content, our best subscription offers, and great new product offerings from The Economist Group.

I wish to be contacted by email.

I also wish to sign up to the EIU (Economist Intelligence Unit) Perspectives newsletter.

The Economist Group is a global organisation and operates a strict privacy policy around the world. Please see our privacy policy here